State Highlights: Calif. Girl At Heart Of Brain Death Debate Dies; Colo. Lawmakers Work To Address High Health Care Costs In State

The Associated Press: Mother: Girl At Center Of Debate Over Brain Death Dies
A girl at the center of the medical and religious debate over brain death has died after surgery in New Jersey, her mother said Thursday. Nailah Winkfield said doctors declared her daughter Jahi McMath dead on June 22 from excessive bleeding and liver failure after an operation to treat an intestinal issue. (6/28)

Los Angeles Times: Jahi McMath, Girl At Center Of Debate Over Brain Death, Dies, Mother Says
In the years since Jahi McMath was declared brain dead, she sometimes showed signs of life: a twitch of her finger, the wiggling of a toe. Those moments, and their Christian faith, invigorated Jahi’s family in their fight to keep the girl on life support. “Jahi wasn't brain dead or any kind of dead,” her mother, Nailah Winkfield, told the Associated Press. “She was a girl with a brain injury, and she deserved to be cared for like any other child who had a brain injury.” (Tchekmedyian, 6/28)

Denver Post: Legislature Working To Reduce Health Care Costs 
Health care costs continue to demand more from Coloradans’ pocketbooks and stretch the budgets of our state’s families and businesses. Just this year, the Center for Improving Value in Health Care found that health care costs in Colorado are 17 percent higher than those in similar states. Confusing practices and hidden pricing at many freestanding emergency departments (FSEDs) are some of the significant drivers of these increases. As Colorado legislators, we have listened to numerous constituent complaints about unfair FSED practices and seen surprisingly large bills sent by these facilities. In 2018, five legislators joined forces to pass bi-partisan legislation addressing this important issue. (Sias and Singer, 6/28)

Minnesota Public Radio: Has Anything Changed For Vulnerable Adults In Minnesota?
Last year, an investigation by a Star Tribune reporter Chris Serres revealed elder care abuse in several care facilities across Minnesota. Since then, care facilities and health organizations have promised change, but new reports from AARP suggests more action is needed. (Miller and Lillie, 6/28)

The Associated Press: Judge Temporarily Blocks Abortion Reporting Rule In Indiana
A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked a new Indiana law's requirement that medical providers report detailed patient information to the state if they treat women for complications arising from abortions. U.S. District Judge Richard Young granted the preliminary injunction sought by Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky. The order blocks the provision in a state law taking effect Sunday. (6/28)

Cleveland Plain Dealer: Ohioans Could See Costly Campaign Fight Over Dialysis Issue In November
Ohioans could vote in November to set new standards for dialysis treatment and cap what for-profit dialysis clinics can charge, through an amendment to the Ohio Constitution. Opponents say it will force clinics to close, reducing access to treatment and raising costs for nearly 20,000 Ohioans who depend on hemodialysis treatments. (Borchardt, 6/28)

New Hampshire Public Radio: N.H. Eyes Quick Timeline For New PFAS Limits In Drinking Water
The state says it wants to propose new limits on certain industrial chemicals in drinking water by the start of next year. It comes after this week's big regional summit on the chemicals, known collectively as PFAS. (Ropeik, 6/28)

Georgia Health News: Multimillion-Dollar Mistake: Medicare Says Providers Were Overpaid
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services told GHN on Wednesday that the agency found 268,000 claims from hospitals, rural health clinics and other providers that were erroneously paid through the traditional fee-for-service Medicare program. ...The states affected are mainly Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama. Georgia providers owe $19.1 million, followed by $15.4 million in Tennessee, and $11.9 million in Alabama. Another $8.3 million comes from other states. (Miller, 6/28)

The CT Mirror: Advocates: DSS Call Center Wait Times Must Be Fixed
A group of Medicaid enrollees, providers and advocates demanded Thursday that the state Department of Social Services address the long wait times and dropped calls at its call center. The DSS system for handling clients’ calls has been under scrutiny since it was implemented five years ago to improve service. (Rigg, 6/28)

Denver Post: Colorado Was A Laggard In Childhood Vaccination Rates For Years. All That Appears To Be Changing.
Colorado could finally be shedding its reputation as a state that eschews childhood vaccinations. New figures from the health department show, for the second school year in a row, that more than 90 percent of students got their required shots. The shots are being administered at levels that officials say is needed to protect children against diseases such as diphtheria, tetanus, hepatitis B and polio. Prevention of the spread of viruses also is protecting kids who don’t get vaccinated. (Whaley, 6/28)

Austin American-Statesman: Texas House Panel Tackles Mental Health And School Safety
In the wake of the Santa Fe High School shooting that killed 10 on May 18, state lawmakers have repeatedly heard the call for better mental health screening and services for students over the past few weeks as they discuss improving school safety. Gov. Greg Abbott’s 44-page school safety plan includes a large section that explores expanding existing mental health programs like training more teachers to notice mental health issues among students. (Chang, 6/28)

San Jose Mercury News: Right To Die: Who Uses California's End Of Life Options Act?
Two years after California enacted a right-to-die law, more residents are using it – but they tend to be white and well-educated. This suggests that more Californians are becoming aware of the law, but that it may not readily available to everyone. (Krieger, 6/28)

The Star Tribune: Blue Cross Taps Anthem Exec As New CEO
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota has hired an executive from the for-profit health insurance giant Anthem, Inc. as its next CEO. Dr. Craig Samitt, who most recently served as executive vice president and chief clinical officer at Indianapolis-based Anthem, will take the top job as president and chief executive at Eagan-based Blue Cross effective July 30. (Snowbeck, 6/28)

Modern Healthcare: Atlantic Health System Partners With MedExpress To Bolster Urgent-Care Network
Integrated provider Atlantic Health System has partnered with MedExpress and its 11 urgent-care centers in New Jersey, the organizations announced Thursday. The jointly owned centers will allow MedExpress to refer patients to Morristown, N.J.-based Atlantic if patients require more specialized care. Ideally, the partnership will facilitate more affordable, coordinated care as new payment models drive more care to lower-cost settings within an all-inclusive network. (Kacik, 6/28)

The Associated Press: Clinic Opens Hours After Oklahoma Approves Medical Marijuana
A clinic for prescribing medical marijuana opened in Tulsa just hours after Oklahoma voters approved the pot measure — and before election officials had even certified the vote. Tulsa Higher Care Clinic opened Wednesday morning, although it could be weeks before residents can apply for a license to possess marijuana for medical purposes. (6/28)

Sacramento Bee: UC Davis, Shriners Ranked Among Nation's Top Hospitals For Children
The UC Davis Children’s Hospital has been recognized by U.S. News and World Report for the eighth consecutive year in its annual ranking of Best Children’s Hospitals in the U.S. The 2018-19 list ranked the Children’s Hospital as one of the nation’s best 50 facilities in five categories, including in pediatric orthopedics, a collaborative effort with Shriners Hospitals. (Holzer, 6/28)

New Orleans Times-Picayune: Ochsner Completes $20 Million Expansion To Clinic Near Covington 
Ochsner Health System has announced the completion of a $20 million expansion to its clinic near Covington, enhancing the medical provider's services in neurosciences, orthopedics, sports medicine and physical therapy on the North Shore, according to a news release issued Thursday (June 28). The facility, located near Interstate 12 and Louisiana 21 interchange, now encompasses 43,000 square feet and houses more than 36 specialties, Ochsner announced in the release. The expansion, which broke ground in June of 2016, increases the number of patient rooms from 152 to 206 and adds 3 operating rooms. (Chatelain, 6/28)

Sacramento Bee: Which City’s Health Workers Boast Highest Disposable Income? Hint: It’s A Capital
Sacramento's health care workers take home more of their pay than their peers living in the nation's 100 most populous cities, including Dallas-Fort Worth and San Jose, according to a cost-of-living analysis done by the online rental listing service RentCafe. ..The RentCafe analysis looked at wages for individuals that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics classifies as health care practitioners and technical workers and those in the BLS category of health care support. (Anderson, 6/28)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Shelters, Hospitals 'Playing Ping Pong' With Philadelphia's Homeless, Sick Population
The problem of how to care for what Hinson calls “medically fragile” homeless people who have few appropriate places to go once they leave a health facility extends well beyond these cases. ... At a time when government funds for the poor are under assault, Philadelphia and other cities are grappling with how to keep the homeless, who tend to be heavy users of expensive hospital care, healthier as they age. (Burling, 6/28)

WBUR: First Recreational Cannabis License Could Go To Leicester Marijuana Dispensary
The Cannabis Control Commission on Monday will vote on whether Cultivate Holdings in Leicester will be the first company allowed to sell recreational cannabis products to anyone over the age of 21. Cultivate has been operating a medical marijuana dispensary in the town since late 2017. (Brown, 6/28)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Where The Weed Things Are: Marijuana Growers Eye Former Strawbridge's, U.S. Steel Plant
Seventeen aspiring growers have submitted applications to operate in the Philadelphia area with 74 more applications to cultivate tendered for the rest of the state. The Department of Health is expected to award a total of 13 permits to commercial growers to supply medical marijuana for Pennsylvania patients. (Wood, 6/29)